Course Development
The Center has been instrumental in having several new courses added to the Law School’s curriculum. Some courses are specifically designed for MLI and other international graduate students, while others are for both MLI and JD students. Information about the availability of these courses during specific semesters at the Law School, course descriptions, and exam schedules can be found on the Law School's Courses and Schedules website.
Courses offered in the fall, 2007:
Two new courses were offered during the fall semester. These were
940-022 L&CP: Japanese Law Seminar, taught by Naoki Kanaboshi, S.J.D. candiate.
The course was open to 2L, 3L and MLI students.
2-3 credits; meets
Mondays
Also offered was
Open to 2L, 3L, MLI
students; Call number 44152 Instructor:
This
course identifies the key issues to be addressed in FTA negotiations (bilateral
or regional) and examines the variances between those of WTO and FTA. The goal
of this course is to provide the students with basic knowledge of FTA issues
which are not and cannot be fully addressed in WTO multilateral negotiations.
The
scope of this course can be broadly divided into three categories: Liberalization
and Facilitation measures, Trade Remedies, and Dispute Settlement. The
liberation and facilitation negotiations include tariffs, non-tariff measures,
rules of origin, customs procedures, paper trading. Trade remedies
negotiations cover the special issues in safeguards, antidumping and
countervailing measures, technical barriers to trade-mutual recognition,
sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade in services, modality of
negotiations in the service sector, investment, movement of natural persons, intellectual
property rights, government procurement, competition policy, etc. The
dispute settlement procedures in FTA will be more transparent, simplified and
clearer than those of WTO so as to reduce administrative costs and prevent
avoidable conflicts that may arise form ambiguity of the procedures. This
course also introduces on-going WTO issues such Fisheries Subsidies Agreement,
negotiations to clarify Antidumping and Countervailing Agreement or Agriculture
Agreement.
Each
student is required to submit a substantial paper on a topic assigned to or
selected by students among course materials. 60% of the grade will be
based on the presented paper and 40% by class presentation and participation. There is no final exam.
940-008 L&CP: Chinese Law. Open to 2L, 3L, MLI
students Instructor: the Center's Assistant Director, Professor John Ohnesorge. Spring 2008. This seminar is designed to give students an
appreciation of the
role of law in Chinese society, in the past, and today. We begin the
seminar with an examination of law in traditional Chinese
society, which constituted perhaps the world's most influential
alternative to the Western legal tradition. We then look briefly
at past efforts to "modernize" Chinese law, during the Republican
period before 1949, and during the influence of Soviet law after
1949. The remainder of the semester will be spent on China's
current efforts to establish a legal system, focusing on topics such as
constitutional law and human rights, intellectual property law,
environmental law, or corporate law. The exact topics covered
will depend upon students' interests. Students will write papers,
and will present those papers to the class during the last few
sessions. Grading will be on the basis of the papers and the
presentations.
Introduction to American Law (Law 601). An overview of American legal institutions and basic areas of American law. Offered in the fall semester for MLI students and foreign and American graduate students. (A required course for MLI students.) Taught by Lawrence Church. (3 cr.) [pictured below, Professor Church teaching in room 3260 in the Law School]
Legal Issues Involving North America and East and Southeast Asia (Law 872). The topics covered in this seminar vary yearly depending on the interests of individual students who report on their research topics in the second half of the course. The course typically includes a cross-cultural negotiations component. Offered in the spring semester for MLI and JD students. Taught by Charles Irish. (2 cr.)
Legal Sources (Law 602). An introduction to common law analysis and American legal research sources. Emphasis is on the use of American cases in legal problem solving. Includes an overview of plagiarism concerns and citation and attribution conventions. Fall semester; spring semester availability when demand warrants it. This course is required for MLI students who enter in the fall semester. Taught in two sections; Jessica Harrison and Susan Katcher. (3 cr.)
Legal Writing for MLI Students (Law 603). Research, organization, and writing process of an inter-office memorandum, client letter, and brief to the court. Discussion of objective and subjective writing. This course is especially helpful for MLI students who will be taking a bar examination, as well as those working in a law office or going into another master's program. The course is also generally helpful for the taking of law school exams. Limited enrollment. This course is also open to LLM and SJD students upon the recommendation of their advisors. Spring semester. Taught by Jessica Harrison and Susan Katcher. (3 cr.)
Library Enhancement
The Law Library has a collection of over 525,000 volumes, has reference librarians who assist students, and houses the Law School’s computer laboratory. The Center provides continuing support for the acquisition of new books, periodicals, and other reference materials related to the laws of East Asian and Southeast Asian countries.